Packaged bamboo shade and method of packaging bamboo shades

ABSTRACT

A shade of the type having a headrail, a panel of bamboo or faux bamboo slats attached to a headrail, at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool and lift cords connected to the panel and passing over a portion of the cord lock or the cord spool is packaged for trimming in a cut-down machine. In the preferred method, the panel is folded into a plurality of folds, the folds being located to create a cavity between the folds and the bottom surface of the headrail with the cord locks located in the cavity. Spacer material is positioned in the cavity in a manner so that there is spacer material adjacent to the side edges of the panel of slats. A band is wrapped around the shade to form a banded shade. The band is sized and positioned so that a portion of the panel adjacent each side edge is exposed. Then a wrapper is placed around the banded shade.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates a package for bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades to facilitate trimming of the shade to a custom width.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional bamboo shades are made from a panel of slats that have been cut from bamboo plants treated and woven together. In some panels cylindrical rods or sticks are placed between each pair of slats. This panel is attached to a headrail and a lift mechanism forming a roll-up or roman shade. In some shades there is also a bottom rail attached to the panel.

Faux bamboo shades have been developed which are comprised of plastic slats, and optionally plastic rods, woven together in the same manner as the slats in real bamboo shades. This panel is attached to a headrail lift mechanism in the same way as a real bamboo shade.

Manufacturers of bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades have sold these products in rolls, rolling the panel much like a roller shade and then placing that rolled shade in a plastic bag or similar package. Bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades have also been packaged in boxes having a width 3 to 4 times greater than the depth. The shades are placed in the box by folding them back and forth as they are laid into the box.

Prior to the present invention, bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades, have been stocked and sold by retailers in standard sizes. A customer whose windows are not a standard size could obtain a bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade for those windows only by placing a special order for the shade. Then the retailer would provide the dimensions of the customer's windows to the factory to have a bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade custom made for the customer.

Many home centers carry standard sizes of venetian blinds which can be trimmed to have smaller widths using cut-down machines located in the store. Special packages have been developed for venetian blinds that are trimmed in cut-down machines. One example of such a package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,073 to Tu. This package is a rectangular box having two open opposite ends. A venetian blind placed in this box extends outwardly from either open end, then removable caps are fitted onto the open ends of the box covering the ends of the venetian blind. This box would not be useful for bamboo shades because they could not be easily inserted into the box. One could fold the bamboo shade in a manner which has been done for packaging in rectangular boxes and then slide the shade into the open ended box, but the box would not sufficiently restrain the shade to enable it to be cut in a cut-down machine. Tu also discloses a cut-down machine which can be used to trim the venetian blind contained in his package. This guillotine cutter has one blade for cutting the slats and another blade for cutting the headrail and bottom rail. The blades move along an axis parallel to the lift cords. This type of cutting machine, which has separate openings for the headrail, slats and bottom rail, could not be used for a bamboo shade, unless the shade can be placed in a single opening. The only opening in Tu's cut-down machine which is large enough to potentially receive a bamboo shade is the opening for the slats. But that opening, as well as the openings in cut-down machines currently in use, is not sized or configured to handle a rolled up shade or blind. One may be able to place a bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade which has been packaged in a box in the slat opening of Tu's cut-down machine for trimming. But, if one attempts to cut a bamboo shade on this machine the edges of the shade would likely split, crack or chip during cutting because of the manner in which the shades have been packaged. The same problem will also be encountered if one attempts to use other cut-down machines that have been used for venetian blinds. As a result there is no cut-down program currently available for bamboo shades or faux bamboo shades.

There is a need for a package for bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades which would enable the shades to be cut-down in a retail store or home center to a custom width desired by a customer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shade of the type having a headrail, a panel of bamboo or faux bamboo slats attached to a headrail, and lift cords attached to the panel and either passing through at least one cord lock or used on a spool or axle attached to the headrail is packaged for trimming in a cut-down machine. The panel is folded into a plurality of folds. I prefer that the folds be located to create a space between the folds and bottom surface of the headrail, with the cord locks or spring motor and spools of a cordless shade located in the space. Spacer material is positioned in the cavity in a manner so that there is spacer material adjacent to the side edges of the panel of slats. If the shade has a valance, the valence is laid over the cavity and folds. A band is wrapped around the shade to form a banded shade. The band is sized and positioned so that a portion of the panel adjacent each side edge is exposed. Then a wrapper is placed around the banded shade.

One can place the banded shade in a separate box and shrink wrap the assembly. The wrapped shade is placed in another box for shipment.

The shade may be corded as a roll-up shade or a roman shade. The panel of slats may also include sticks, jute, grasses, paper or other decorative material positioned between adjacent slats.

The ends of the shade can be placed in a cut-down machine so that the blade can trim the edge of the shade. Because the slats are held tightly together in the package the slats can be cut cleanly. I prefer that the cuts be made without removing the wrapper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a typical bamboo shade or a faux bamboo shade.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one end of another typical bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top of a present preferred embodiment of my package for bamboo shades.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the front, or room side, of the bamboo shade shown in FIG. 2 in a raised position, with the valance pulled back and placed to begin the packaging process.

FIG. 5 is a plan view similar to FIG. 4 showing the placement of spacer material.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bamboo shade shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as the valance is folded to its final position.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the bamboo shade shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 banded for placement in the packing box.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the bamboo shade having a bottom rail packaged in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a cardboard form that can be folded to band the bamboo shade.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a present preferred cutting machine in which the bamboo shade packaged in accordance with the present invention is shown in chain line positioned for trimming.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the cutting machine positioned to cut-down the bamboo shade packaged in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 a typical bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade 1 is comprised of a panel 2 of the slats 4 and sticks 5 woven together with cords 6. Sticks 5 are not used in some bamboo shades. The slats 4 are cut from bamboo stalks in a real bamboo shade. In a faux bamboo shade the slats are plastic. The sticks could be wood or other plant material or plastic. One could also substitute jute, grasses, paper or other decorative material for some of the slats or use one of those materials between slats. The panel 2 is connected to a headrail 8 containing a lift mechanism which includes lift cords 9. The lift mechanism may be cord locks or other cord guides or a spring motor and cord spools of the type used in a cordless shade. When cord locks are used the lift cords pass over a portion of the cord lock, namely a surface against which the cords are pressed by a roller, dog leg or other structure to lock them in place. When a spring motor is used the lift cords pass over and are wound around one or more cord spools. In many bamboo shades the headrail 8 consists of a board such as a 1×2 or 2×4 with the panel 2 being attached to the rear side of the headrail and a valance 3 attached to the front side of the headrail 8 as shown in FIG. 2. The lift mechanism may cause the panel 2 to be rolled up and down forming a roll-up shade. Alternatively, the lift mechanism may be connected in a manner to create a roman shade. In a roman shade the panel 2 is folded into several folds 2 a shown in FIG. 2 as the shade is raised. The number of folds will depend upon the length of the shade. Usually there are from 4 to 9 folds.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8 the present preferred packaging contains a rectangular box 10 having a bottom 11, side panels 12 and end panels 13. The box also has a top which is not shown. The box is sized so that the box and side panels 12 have a length corresponding to the width of the bamboo shade. The width of the box 10, namely the length of the end panels 13, and the depth of the box 10 are selected so that the shade can be tightly packed into the box as shown in FIG. 8. One preferred box has a width of 7 inches, a depth of 2 inches and a length of 32 inches, roughly 18 cm. by 5 cm. by 82 cm. A central band 14 is provided around the shade. This band is sized so that the ends of the shade are exposed and may extend outward from the band. In a preferred embodiment 4 inches (10 cm.) of shade is exposed on each end of the shade. If desired, the box 10 could be made longer than the width of the shade to provide a space in which hardware, such as mounting brackets and screws, could be placed and shipped with the shade.

The preferred steps in a present preferred method for packaging a bamboo shade are shown in FIGS. 4 through 7. A roman type shade in a fully raised position as in FIG. 2 is placed front side up upon a table or other work surface as shown in FIG. 4. The valance 3 is folded back to expose the cord locks, pulleys or other cord guides 16, or spring motor and cord spools if the shade is a cordless shade. The panel 2 has been folded to provide a space or cavity 19 between the folds and the headrail. The cord locks, pulleys or other cord guides 16, or spring motor and cord spools of a cordless shade are in this cavity. In a corded shade the lift cords 9 are wrapped together and placed between the cord locks for storage during shipment. If desired, the mounting brackets and other hardware may also be placed in this location. Then cardboard or other spacer material 18 is placed in the cavity 19 between each edge of the shade and the cord lock 16 nearest that edge of the shade as shown in FIG. 5. Then the valance 3 is folded over the cavity 19, cord locks 16 and spacer material 18 as shown in FIG. 6. If desired, some of the panel 2 may be folded over the cavity and spacer material as is done in the shade shown in FIG. 8. Next a band is wrapped around the center of the shade and the banded shade is placed in the packing box 10 as shown in FIG. 3. The banded shade or both the banded shade and box are shrink wrapped in plastic and placed in a shipping carton for shipment. One could provide a band having a uniform width or one could use the cardboard blank 20 shown in FIG. 9 to form the band.

Referring to FIG. 9, the cardboard blank 20 is cut to have a first portion 21, which when folded along the dotted lines passing through that portion, forms a bottom and two side panels on either side of the bottom. The wings 22, 23 at either end of the first portion 21 are folded to form end panels and tabs. The tabs are attached to the side panels after folding. A second portion 24 is attached to the first portion 21 and flap 25. I prefer to use glue or adhesive tape for the attachment. The second portion forms the band on top of the shade that can be seen in FIG. 7. The flap 25 is tucked into a position between the shade and the side panel. If desired the blank could be sized so that the flap 25 could be fastened to the outside of the side panel. Then the assembly is shrink wrapped in plastic. A similar band can be created by omitting the wings 22 and 23. Omission of these wings will make it easier to measure and position the blind in a cut-down machine for trimming.

As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 8, the bamboo shade is positioned in the box 10 so that the headrail 8 is at one side of the box 10 or blank 20 extending along one side panel 12. In this shade the slats 2 are faux bamboo solid cylinders. A top portion 7 of the bamboo shade panel 2 extends along the bottom 11 of the box or blank. Then the panel 2 is folded back and forth providing several runs or folds 2 a of the shade. Spacer material 18, preferably consisting of corrugated cardboard, is placed adjacent the headrail 8 and on top of the upper portion 7 of the panel 2. The bottom rail 15 or bottom edge of the shade is laid on top of the cardboard or other spacer material 18. Then the valance covers the bottom rail and panel 2. The spacer material is sized such that after the bamboo shade has been laid into the box the runs or folds of the shade will be tightly packed together. The band 14 is tightly wrapped around the shade forming a tight package. This tight package enables to shade to be placed in a cut-down machine as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 and cut cleanly.

A present preferred cut-down machine 30 has a table or platen 32 on which the packaged bamboo shade 31 is placed. A circular saw whose blade 34 can be seen in FIG. 11 is positioned at one end of the table 32. The shade is placed on the platen 32 and positioned so that one end of the shade extends past the blade. I prefer that the shrink wrap remain on the packaged shade during cutting. The portion of the shade 1 which extends past the blade corresponds to the difference between the standard width of the blind and the custom width to which the blind is to be trimmed. After being so positioned, the bamboo shade is trimmed with the circular saw. If one uses the blank shown in FIG. 9 a portion of that blank will be cut at the same time the bamboo shade is being cut. The tight packing of the shade enables the shade to be cut cleanly. One could decide to cut all of the excess length off of one end of the shade or trim half the excess length from each end of the blind, as is conventionally done with venetian blinds. Cut-down machines of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,412,381 and 6,615,698 can be used to trim bamboo shades and faux bamboo shades packaged in accordance with the present invention. If one cuts a real bamboo shade using these machines, the cut edges probably will be rough. Therefore, I prefer to sand or buff the cut ends. One could also unpack and mount the shade in a fully lowered position and cut off any slivers or burrs with scissors or electric scissors. A faux bamboo shade can be cut cleanly such that no sanding, buffing or trimming is required. A guillotine type cutter could be used on faux bamboo shades but it is not recommended for real bamboo shades because cracking or chipping will occur.

Although I have shown and described certain present preferred embodiments of my packaged bamboo shade and package for bamboo shades it should be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be variously embodied within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A packaged shade comprising: a bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade having a headrail, a panel comprised of bamboo or faux bamboo slats, the panel having two side edges and attached to the headrail, at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool connected to the headrail, and lift cords attached to the panel and passing over a portion of the at least one cord lock or the cord spool, the panel being folded into a plurality of folds, spacer material positioned adjacent the at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool, a band wrapped around the shade to form a banded shade, the band sized and positioned so that a portion of the panel adjacent each side edge is exposed, and a wrapper surrounding the banded shade.
 2. The packaged shade of claim 1 wherein the folds are located to create a cavity between the folds and the headrail with the at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool and the spacer material located in the cavity so that there is spacer material adjacent to the side edges.
 3. The packaged shade of claim 1 also comprising a box in which the banded shade is placed.
 4. The packaged shade of claim 3 wherein the wrapper also surrounds the box.
 5. The packaged shade of claim 1 also comprising shade hardware positioned within the cavity.
 6. The packaged shade of claim 1 also comprising a valance attached to the headrail.
 7. The packaged shade of claim 2 also comprising a valance attached to the headrail and wherein the valance extends over the cavity and spacer material.
 8. The packaged shade of claim 1 wherein the band is configured to have a first portion that extends from one side edge of the panel to the other side edge of the panel and a second portion having opposite second side edges which are spaced apart from the side edges of the panel such that portions of the panel between the side edges of the panel and the second side edges of the band are exposed.
 9. The packaged shade of claim 1 wherein the wrapper is a clear plastic.
 10. The packaged shade of claim 1 wherein the wrapper is a shrink wrap.
 11. The packaged shade of claim 1 wherein the shade is a roman shade or a roll-up shade.
 12. A method for packaging a bamboo shade or faux bamboo shade of the type having a headrail, a panel comprised of bamboo or faux bamboo slats, the panel having two side edges and attached to the headrail, at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool attached to the headrail, and lift cords connected to the panel and passing over a portion of the at least one cord lock or the cord spool comprising: folding the panel into a plurality of folds, placing spacer material adjacent the at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool, wrapping one of a band or an inner box around the shade to form a packed shade, the band sized and positioned so that a portion of the panel adjacent each side edge is exposed, and placing a wrapper around the packed shade.
 13. The method of claim 12 where the panel is folded so that the folds are located to create a cavity between the folds and the headrail with the at least one cord lock or spring motor and cord spool located in the cavity, and the spacer material is placed in a manner so that there is spacer material adjacent to the side edges;
 14. The method of claim 12 also comprising placing the banded shade in a box.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the banded shade is placed into the box prior to placing a wrapper around the banded shade such that the wrapper also surrounds the box.
 16. The method of claim 12 also comprising placing shade hardware in the cavity.
 17. The method of claim 12 also comprising wrapping the lift cords and placing them in the cavity.
 18. The method of claim 12 wherein there is a valance attached to the shade and also comprising positioning the valance to cover the cavity.
 19. The method of claim 12 wherein the band is configured to have a first portion that extends beyond the side edges of the panel and a second portion that does not extend to the side edges of the panel also comprising folding the band in a manner so that the band forms a rectangular box such that portions of the panel adjacent each side edge of the panel are exposed.
 20. The method of claim 12 wherein the wrapper is placed around the banded shade using a shrink wrap process. 